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The Friends of Scarborough Marsh oppose the current Verizon proposal to locate a 100-foot tall cell tower adjacent to the marsh at 415 Black Point Road, the location of the Scarborough Sanitary District treatment facility. The tower, in addition to destroying views of the marsh, may well pose a threat to migratory and resident birds. Cell towers in the past have been shown to distract certain migratory birds, especially at night. The birds can end up circling the towers for hours due to the light and die from exhaustion or collision with the tower. The Scarborough Marsh is classified as an Important Bird Area.The US Fish and Wildlife Service provides guidelines for locating of towers and other obstructions. Among these are:

Placement. All new towers should be sited to minimize environmental impacts to the maximum extent practicable.

Place new towers within existing "antenna farms" (i.e., clusters of towers) when possible;

Select already degraded areas for tower placement;

Towers should not be sited in or near wetlands (emphasis added), other known bird concentration areas (e.g., state or federal refuges, staging areas, rookeries, and Important Bird Areas), or in known migratory bird movement routes, daily movement flyways, areas of breeding concentration, in habitat of threatened or endangered species, key habitats for Birds of Conservation Concern ….

Towers should avoid ridgelines, coastal areas, wetlands or other known bird concentration areas

On Saturday, April 14, from 8 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Verizon Wireless will be conducting a visual impact analysis for the proposed 100-foot telecommunication tower on a leased parcel of land at 415 Black Point Road. The property is further identified on the Scarborough tax maps as R103, Lot 17A and is the location of the Scarborough Sanitary District treatment facility. This is a replacement of the balloon test which wasn’t successful.

Information about Verizon’s Cell Tower ApplicationVerizon has submitted an application to the Town of Scarborough to install a cell tower at the edge of Scarborough Marsh on the municipal treatment plant parcel off Black Point Road. The Friends of Scarborough Marsh want to inform you of a balloon test that will be conducted there this weekend to allow residents to assess the visual impact of the proposed tower on the Marsh and nearby coastal viewsheds.

Verizon’s application to the Planning Board specifies a cell tower comprised of a 100' monopole with an antennae array located near the top. The array measures approximately 7' tall x 11' wide. There will be room for equipment from three other carriers below Verizon's, increasing the size of the industrial mass. Area White Pines average 50-80' tall, so this equipment will be visible above the trees.

At the request of the Planning Board there will be a balloon test this weekend. The test is scheduled for early morning Saturday, March 31, with a rain date of Sunday, April 1. The balloon will be raised to the height of the tower, allowing people to view how it might impact the sight lines in the marsh and surrounding areas. The balloon will be visible between 8-9 AMand Noon.

The Friends suggest that you view the balloon from your favorite part of the marsh. You may register your impressions, whether for or against the proposal, by contacting Jay Chace, Town Planner at(207) 730-4042 or jchace@scarboroughmaine.org.

Dr. Susan Adamowicz, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: A Sensitive Dependence: Place, Time, Change and Resilience in New England Salt MarshesMarch 28th, 20187:00-8:00pm

Cabela’s Scarborough, Maine Store (100 Cabela’s Blvd.)Lecture held to the left as you enter, in the Penobscot room.​Learn about the history of salt marshes and human alteration from two specific case studies (John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams used one of these marshes). This lecture also addresses concerns about how salt marshes will adapt to climate change and accelerated sea-level rise—with a little Chaos Theory thrown in.FOSM is very grateful to Cabela’s of Scarborough for hosting this month’s lecture.SCARBOROUGH MARSH LECTURE SERIESJanuary 2018 LectureAbigail Carroll, Nonesuch Oysters: Oysters & Merroir(Oyster tasting 6:30 – 7:00!! Lecture following)January 24th, 20186:30-8:00pmCabela’s Scarborough, Maine Store (100 Cabela’s Blvd.)Lecture held to the left as you enter, in the Penobscot room.Borrowed from the vintner expression “terroir” to refer to the effect of land on wine grapes, Merroir refers to the characteristics of the marine environment in which an oyster is grown, and its effect on the oyster itself—especially taste. Listen to our board member, Abigail, and learn why oysters raised in Scarborough Marsh waterways differ from those raised elsewhere in Maine and the world. And find out how the little oyster can truly help save the aquatic world! Make sure to arrive early for a chance to taste some of these delicious oysters provided by Nonesuch Oyster.FOSM is very grateful to Cabela’s of Scarborough for hosting this month’s lecture.SCARBOROUGH MARSH LECTURE SERIESJanuary 2018 LectureAbigail Carroll, Nonesuch Oysters: Oysters & Merroir(Oyster tasting 6:30 – 7:00!! Lecture following)January 24th, 20186:30-8:00pmCabela’s Scarborough, Maine Store (100 Cabela’s Blvd.)Lecture held to the left as you enter, in the Penobscot room.Borrowed from the vintner expression “terroir” to refer to the effect of land on wine grapes, Merroir refers to the characteristics of the marine environment in which an oyster is grown, and its effect on the oyster itself—especially taste. Listen to our board member, Abigail, and learn why oysters raised in Scarborough Marsh waterways differ from those raised elsewhere in Maine and the world. And find out how the little oyster can truly help save the aquatic world! Make sure to arrive early for a chance to taste some of these delicious oysters provided by Nonesuch Oyster.FOSM is very grateful to Cabela’s of Scarborough for hosting this month’s lecture.

SCARBOROUGH MARSH LECTURE SERIESJanuary 2018 LectureAbigail Carroll, Nonesuch Oysters: Oysters & Merroir(Oyster tasting 6:30 – 7:00!! Lecture following)January 24th, 20186:30-8:00pmCabela’s Scarborough, Maine Store (100 Cabela’s Blvd.)Lecture held to the left as you enter, in the Penobscot room.Borrowed from the vintner expression “terroir” to refer to the effect of land on wine grapes, Merroir refers to the characteristics of the marine environment in which an oyster is grown, and its effect on the oyster itself—especially taste. Listen to our board member, Abigail, and learn why oysters raised in Scarborough Marsh waterways differ from those raised elsewhere in Maine and the world. And find out how the little oyster can truly help save the aquatic world! Make sure to arrive early for a chance to taste some of these delicious oysters provided by Nonesuch Oyster.FOSM is very grateful to Cabela’s of Scarborough for hosting this month’s lecture.

FOSM is in the midst of our annual appeal, and we need your help in protecting, conserving and restoring the Scarborough Marsh.​We hope you'll join us in safeguarding this remarkable natural treasure and ensure the continued enjoyment of the marsh by all who wish to experience its exceptional beauty for generations to come.

To make your gift, mail your check to P.O. Box 7049 or click here to be directed to our donation page on the site.

Under our "Library" tab, you will find a new document available for download called "Stream Crossing Survey of the Scarborough Marsh Watershed". This survey was put together by Friends of Scarborough Marsh board member Steve Pinette. The compiled data from this report will be used by the Friends of Scarborough Marsh to help guide future efforts related to safeguarding and improving the ecologic health of the Marsh.

Join the Friends of Scarborough Marsh, in conjunction with the Maine Audubon, on Saturday, October 28th for the fall clean up of the Marsh! Volunteers encouraged and warmly welcomed! We are partnering this year with Project G.R.A.C.E to collect nonperishable food items, as well as store gift cards, at the clean up. Bring some friends along from 9 to noon, we hope to see you there!

Throughout the summer, with funding from FOSM and support from the Eastern Trail Alliance, we helped put into action an information table, staffed with interns from the Maine Audubon, along the Eastern Trail Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Check out ﻿this article﻿ posted in the Scarborough Leader to learn more!

SCARBOROUGH MARSH LECTURE SERIES2017 – 2018The Friends of Scarborough Marsh (FOSM) is pleased to launch its inaugural 2017 – 2018 SCARBOROUGH MARSH LECTURE SERIES. The monthly series has been crafted to deliver a range of interesting lectures on topics that pertain to the Scarborough Marsh and its environs—ecology, geology, function (e.g., in art, economy, natural resource infrastructure, recreation), history, vulnerability. This season’s lectures cover subjects ranging from sea-level rise and oyster aquaculture to marsh birds and human history. You will come away from each lecture with greater appreciation for Maine’s largest salt marsh and its vital place in our society and ecosystem.Dr. Peter Slovinsky with the Maine Geological Survey will present the September 2017 lectureSea level Rise and the Scarborough MarshSeptember 27, 20177:00 – 8:00 PMCabela’s Scarborough, Maine Store (100 Cabela’s Blvd.)(follow the store signs to the lecture hall)FOSM is very grateful to Cabela’s of Scarborough for hosting this month’s lecture.

Thank you to all of the wonderful Volunteers, Quiz Participants, and Friends of the Marsh for making our Summerfest a successful one! Below is the article that was in the Leader, listing off our wonderful winners that took our quiz! Even with the rain delay, we still made it to Summerfest and drew names. Look for the quiz answers under our News & Updates tab on the site! Again, we just wanted to thank everyone involved!

The MDIFW is a wonderful friend of the Marsh, and has reached out to us asking to put the word out for volunteers to help their partners at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge transplant some plants! If you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty, and have some spare time on September 16th, volunteer with us at the Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area for the day. Your assistance will be needed to help >3000 plants be popped into pre-drilled holes in the ground. These will then be grown to strengthen that habitat as part of an expected relocation effort to help New England Cottontails once again thrive in our area! Parking will be at the Gervais barn on Manson Libby Road. Please RSVP to Brad so he can contact you if there will be a rain delay! We hope to see you there!

Where: Gervais Barn on Manson Libby Road across from NapaWhen: September 16th at 8:30am *RAIN DATE Sept. 17thRSVP: To Brad Zitske at Brad.Zitske@maine.gov